Together We Stood
by Inscriber
Summary: Artemis knew she wasn't a good person-but given her family, she never could be. And she shouldn't have been suprised-she knew this was coming sooner or later; but she hadn't expected it to be so soon. Her real mission was to kill.  COMPLETE!
1. Family Ties

Chapter One: Family Ties

She didn't want to, but she had to. There had never been another choice for her life, never a question on which path she would have to take, not with her family tree. She just hadn't expected it so soon.

Artemis came home and flung her school bag on the coach, followed by her bow and sheath before collapsing into the cushy furniture herself. It had been a long day with the over-night mission followed by a long and repetitive day of school, and the young archer was glad to be home. Lazily she opened her eyes again and leaned over towards the coffee table, her back popping as she did so, and wrapped her hand around the mail. She liked to make sure her mom was getting the bills paid and that everything was running smoothly-besides her mother never noticed and what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. Artemis leaned back and started to flip through the thick stack of envelopes-Bills, bills, bills, bill-wait. Artemis's eyes crossed over a tiny manila envelope without a return address or any other traceable markings. Aside, of course, from the most peculiar fact of all-_her _name was stamped onto the letter. Artemis took a quick peek around the room even though she already knew no one but her and her mom was at home-and her mom was out cold, asleep, on her bed. Returning her attention back to the letter, Artemis tore it open in a flash, its contents already held in her hand. No, no, it couldn't be…but it was. Artemis clenched the paper tight in her hand. She had always known what she would have today, but…Maybe it was better that this was happening so soon-after all, she was starting to get attached. The letter was from her dad-Sportsmaster. The letter was short, just two words in length-her dad had never been that sentimental or a conversationalist.

_Artemis,_

_Time's come._

_-Sportsmaster & Cheshire_

Artemis crumpled the paper tight in her hand and then tossed it into the fire, watching it burn for a moment, watching it turn to ash. Watching it disintegrate as the fire claimed its prize. Fire was symbolic, in a way-not only did fuel the very sun that gave Earth life, but it also stole life away. It proved that no matter what side you were on, there was no way to win.

Artemis flicked her eyes away from the fire, not wanting to see anymore destruction, not wanting to witness anymore damage…even though she knew that in the end, her hand would cause the most.

Oh, she knew what the letter wanted, demanded, craved. It wanted her to do the unthinkable, even though she had known what was to happen from the start. Her hand tightened unconsciously around her bow's handle as the thought invaded her mind-her mission, her only _real _mission-_Kill the Young Justice. _

Artemis shook her head and threw her costume on. Some open air and time to shoot would clear her head. She stood up abruptly and opened the coffee table's one drawer, pulling out a sticky note and leaving her mom a quick message saying she would be out for a while. Then she redid her pony tail and snatched her bow. All she needed was some time to clear her head. Artemis walked confidently out of the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Her arrow zipped right through the crook of the man's arm and he dropped to the ground defensively. The criminals must be getting dumber. Before he could react, she leaped into the air and came down hard on his back. The man gasped and then slumped silently onto the street, unconscious. Shaking her head at the man's poor choice of defense, Artemis chained his hand to a nearby street lamp that dimly illuminated the street.

"Good one. Though usually you would have gone for the kill." A smooth voice whispered in her ear, and Artemis leapt immediately into a fighting stance- her arrow's tip softly touching her sister's nose.

"Cheshire." She hissed, her eyes narrowed as she relaxed her stance and stood up. Great, just what she needed.

"That's no way to greet your half-sister. We're family, call me Jade." Her sister said smiling deviously like she always did-it was more of a smirk than a smile.

"We only share a mom and blood." Artemis spat back. She didn't have time for this.

"Calm down, Artemis." The assassin laughed, and then stepped closer-her face close to Artemis's, "And speaking of blood-I hear from your father that you have some to spill."

"That's not your business." The archer retorted, her gray eyes slits. Cheshire shrugged lightly, taking off her mask. Her face really did look like her mothers.

"Actually," the dark haired women growled, "It will be if you screw up-so tell me now. Can you do it?"

Artemis stared unwavering into her sister's eyes.

"Yeah, I can."

"Good." Cheshire said, her mask returning to her face before she slipped away from the light.

(-)

Artemis trudged unhappily into the living room of Mount Justice, once again seeking the comfort of a coach. She slid into the welcoming material easily, and sighed while she tried to enjoy the silence. But soon, she supposed, these halls would _always_ be silent. There would be no more of Robin's laughter, the kitchen timer wouldn't beep furiously in unison with the fire alarm when Megan cooked, Kid Flash wouldn't be cracking bad jokes, Kaldur wouldn't dispatch any words of wisdom, and Conner wouldn't ever work in the garage…they would all be gone.

"Okay, I'll bite-what's up with the sour face? Missing your favorite 'ninja boyfriend'?" Kid Flash asked, zooming into the room. Artemis blinked her eyes open, startled even though she shouldn't have been.

"Uh, no." the archer mumbled, not prepared with a clever retort.

"Okay, than what's wrong?" the speedster asked, cocking an eyebrow. He seemed to be making a genuine effort to be kind, and Artemis shrugged.

"Family. I don't want to talk about it." She replied shortly, hoping Freckles would take a hint.

"Hey, as long as your dad's not planning my demise, I'm okay with it." The redhead tried to joke, making a slashing motion along his neck. Artemis paled even though she hadn't intended to, and Wally felt instantly guilty, "Um, never mind." He said, back peddling as best he could.

Artemis stood up and glared, her arms crossed, and she turned to walk away. However, just as she picked up her bow, Kaldur walked into the room.

"Batman has called us in for a debriefing." He informed them, gesturing for them to follow him. Artemis's eyes widened. So this was it. Her father's plan was going to fall into place in one set up.

Author's Note: This is just something that's been gnawing on me for a while, so I had to post it. Please review if you like it.


	2. Weak

Chapter Two: Weak

Artemis's grip tightened on her bow as she got seated into the BioShip. Every look she received from any of teens on the team seemed suspicious, unwelcome, and untrusting. Every word seemed prying and unnatural. Even their positions felt tense and wary. But they weren't, and she knew that. There was no way they could know. She had just found out last night that the Mission was so close! Anxiety pricked her like a hot poker, and that was coupled with a horrible feeling of cold that wrapped harshly around her heart, constricting it to where she could hardly breathe. Her palms were clammy with sweat, but she felt like ice was being pumped into her veins, the air felt tight and thin, and-what was she doing? Taking a deep breath she forced herself into calm, choking out her fast beating heart by only taking slow and even breaths. She wiped her hands off on the green material stretched around her legs, adjusted that infernal mask, and shifted to a more comfortable position. She had to get a hold of herself. She flashed a look around at the rest of the team, who hadn't noticed her short-lived anxiety attack. Robin was telling Miss Martian about some of Kid Flash's less admirable moments, leaving a mortified Wally trying to defend himself. Kaldur was relaxed in his chair, a thoughtful look smeared onto his face, and Superboy had his arms crossed over his chest while he looked out the window. What was she doing? This was just another mission, right? She had done this kind of thing before, more than she would like to have, but still. This was routine. This was life. Why was it so unbearably hard? She shook herself.

"It's only hard if you make it that way." She whispered to herself. It was an old pep-talk she had recited millions of times, and it worked. One last deep breath, and she felt normal again.

"We'll be landing soon!" Megan said cheerfully, breaking the young archer's dismal thoughts. Abruptly the ship jerked gently, rocking the team a bit before being still.

"Soon doesn't mean "now", Miss M." Robin commented playfully, but Artemis was already gone into her thoughts again. When Sportsmaster had first debriefed her on her mission, he had said that she should do it on a mission. After all, it _was_ possible for death to occur when you were taking on the bad guys. He had also told her that when she received a letter from him, that he wanted it done within two days. Forty-two hours was plenty of time to dispose of five teens who didn't know when they weren't wanted. So she had about a day and a half…Which meant today was the best option. Thinking of which, what _was_ their mission? Artemis thought back hazily to the debriefing…it had something to do with the Block Buster and Venom compound...and that meant it probably involved her dad. He was a huge supporter of the stuff. Oh, great. No pressure or anything. He had probably planned it like this, the self-serving jerk.

"Hey, we're leaving." A voice said, and Artemis realized she'd been zoned out in her seat, the buckle still on. Kid Flash was standing in front of her seat, looking impatient but trying not to. Her mind's eye swept up an unwanted memory of being cradled in his arms as he ran, having just saved her from a fiery death by tank missile. She stood up and grabbed her bow, muttering a "Thanks" before walking past him and out of the ship. This was going to be a long, crappy, awful, day.

She laid her foot down on the grass. They were on some sort of island-she could tell because of the sea-blown breeze and distant sounds of rocking waves and chattering birds. Aqualad was at the head of the team somehow, even though they had formed a cluster around him. Artemis squeezed into it, quickly followed by Baywatch-Kid Flash-she couldn't have pet names anymore. It would just make it harder. Kaldur peered around the group and nodded to himself, having made sure everyone was there.

"Remember, everyone, that this is a _covert_ mission." He paused to eye Superboy and Kid Flash, Conner shrugged and Kid Flash made a gesture of disbelief, "We will all go in as a group-we don't want to be split up. This is the heart of the Block Buster serum production line, which means it will be heavily guarded."

Artemis cursed in her head. They wouldn't be split up? She couldn't take them all down at once. She had to think of something.

"Uh…" she said, surprising everyone. They all turned to face her. Okay, had to think of something…

"Yes?" Kaldur asked respectfully, obviously open to ideas, just like a good leader should be. Oh man, she couldn't be thinking of things like that, especially when she had to find away to rip them apart.

"Uh, if we go in a big group, won't they notice us?" she said pathetically. She used to be so good at stuff like this. What was _wrong_ with her?

"Hmm…" Kaldur murmured and Artemis held her breath, "I suppose it would be easier to be partnered up. I will go with Miss Martian; Kid Flash will be paired with Superboy, and you and Robin. Keep in mind that we must be aware of everything." He warned, making eye contact with everyone before continuing, "I and Miss Martian will go in first, Robin and Artemis close behind. Kid Flash and Superboy, scout us and make sure that no one has seen us."

After everyone had given a quick nod of understanding, Kaldur and Megan took off, the Martian fading almost perfectly into the background. Artemis followed behind with Robin on her heels. She couldn't believe that the pairing idea had worked. She was still scolding herself from the lame excuse, and she reasoned that Aqualad had agreed only to reassure the rest of team. She mentally slapped herself. These were not the thoughts you had about your targets. This was weakness, and she abhorred weakness with a bitter intensity. She pushed her thoughts out of the way, thankful that the Martian hadn't linked her mind to anyone else's.

Artemis slinked into the building after the blurred figure of the olive skinned girl, hearing Robin duck in after her. The inside of the production plant was dark with only dimmed yellow lights providing minimal visibility, so little she could barely see the outline of her hand a few feet away from her face. Her face set. How on earth was she going to catch the Boy Wonder in this kind of environment? He was pretty much raised by a guy who called himself _the Batman._ She couldn't help but grind her teeth a little in frustration. Without warning she heard a small thump and the thirteen year old had dropped down beside her, smirking and clearly pleased with himself.

"Just killed the heat sensors, motion sensors, and the video feeds are on a constant loop of a blank floor, same for the audio." He informed her, and his wrist computer projection powered back down. Artemis hadn't ever really looked at Robin before, and this was a really bad time to start, but when compared to the others on the team he looked so…vulnerable, so human. Granted, she was human too, but he was young, barely a teen. His thin, wiry frame and small stature made him seem frail when amongst the large and overwhelming machines. He looked like a little kid.

"Good job." She said, at a loss for words as she realized her pause had been unnaturally long. The Bird Boy flashed a devious grin and then melted away into the shadows. A small icy hand pierced her heart but Artemis shrugged it off.

"It's only hard if you make it that way." She murmured to herself, keeping her eyes out for the Atlantian and wondering how she would get one of them alone…

"Robin!" she hissed quietly, and the small teen was suddenly at her side.

"What?" he mouthed, looking at her curiously. She forced herself to continue.

"Listen," she said pointing over to a hallway that tore off from the main room, "I think there might be something down there."

Robin's domino mask shifted on his face and she got the impression that one of his eyebrows had risen into the air, "What makes you say that?" he asked, turning his attention to the empty and silent hall. Artemis froze. Okay, why did she think that? Hmm…she was out of practice.

"Just a feeling. I've learned to trust them though." She said confidently, turning her eyes on the location with interest. Robin looked over to Kaldur and made a quick motion indicating the hallway. Kaldur stopped his exploration of the lab and back tracked, walking up to the archer and the acrobat.

"What is it?" he whispered carefully, but not unkindly.

"We think there may be something down there-" Robin gestured to the lonely hall "And we want to check it out. We'll catch up." The boy finished, already heading off into the fake place of interest. Artemis tightened her grip on her bow and started after the young team mate, but a strong webbed hand wrapped around her shoulder softly.

"Watch out for him." The Atlantian said, his deep gray eyes seeming to bore into her soul. It was a good thing they actually couldn't though, because it wasn't a nice place in there..especially for the team.

"I will." Artemis promised, surprised to find her voice rough. The dark skinned boy gave her a warm smile before returning to his search. She'd been right about today.

Robin crept along the hall floor, virtually silent. Artemis was impressed by the boy's light touch and his ability to travel in complete silence.

"So, what are we looking for?" the dark haired boy asked quietly, peering around the corner before turning down it himself. Artemis followed close behind, clearing her mind.

"I don't know." She said. How was she supposed to.

"Very helpful." Robin quipped before he pulled out his computer's projection screen, "I'm going to do a quick scan of the place to see if there are any traces of Block Buster. If not, we can head back." The boy finished. Artemis nodded numbly and the teens face turned his back towards her as his face concentrated on the screen. Artemis gulped hard, ignoring her conscious as it flashed warningly into her head. She took the butt of her bow firmly in her hand, and then closed her eyes, whacking the Boy Wonder on the temple.

He let loose a small groan before slumping to the floor, unconscious-drifting of f into a world of darkness and numb. It was probably better for him there, anyway. Reality was a cruel place to live.

Without a word she knelt over the limp body and dragged him over to a pole, tying up his arms and legs with chain she found lying on the ground. She paused quietly, looking over the boy. His dark hair was now messily drooping into his face, the whites of his mask were slits indicating his shut eyes, and his body was propped into a sitting position from the pipe he leaned against, but it still moved slightly with the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He didn't deserve this. None of them did. But she shrugged off the feelings, steeling her heart again. Silently, she pulled out one of her arrows, aiming towards the heart.

"It's only hard if you make it that way." She whispered, a small tear escaping the corner of her eye. When had she gotten so _weak_?

"Artemis." A voice boomed behind her and she froze instantly, feeling her face pale and sensing the sweat peel down her skin like splinters of ice. How on Earth was she going to explain this?

][][][][

Author's Note: Replies

KaliAnn: I have started reading, but it may take awhile since I am now working on two fictions! Thank you for your comment!

Kiwisilence: Wow! Thank you! It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this, which is an amazing compliment to me! This is my first YJ fiction, and I was a little nervous about keeping everyone IC.

Rowanfall: Thanks for reviewing! And I'm glad you liked it, because it's been on my mind for a while!

Scarlet mist: Loved the compliment! Thank you for the support!

GrayAreas: I love Artemis fics and I have been noticing that the few that are out there are mostly Romance. Thank you for reviewing this!


	3. Things Aren't Always As They Seem

Chapter Three: Things Aren't Always As They Seem

Artemis felt the hair on the back of her neck rise with the prickle of discomfort, and she turned around slowly. She had been too nervous, too on-edge, to listen to the sound of the voice, and only the word had been processed. She kept her bow drawn, readying herself to take aim at whoever had seen her. She spun now, speeding up her agonizingly sluggish turn, keeping her bow drawn and pointed. But she stopped immediately as her arrow's tip found its way into facing her father's heart. She straightened herself out, sheathing her arrow and letting her bow hang to her side. Her dad's bright blonde hair lined the frame of his hockey mask and she could imagine his cold eyes looking down at her, unimpressed and cold. She had never been able to please him. There was a moment of silence before he uncrossed his arms.

"If I would have been one of your ex-team mates, you would have failed before you began." He said with disappointment, "You're slow and sloppy…and you're slipping." He continued, leaving Artemis off-guard. He never spoken to her much, and this was more than they had talked in nearly a year. And she hadn't even been near him for two minutes. His gaze hardened as expected.

"Cheshire didn't think you could do it. I think she might be right." He added.

"They might hear you." Artemis spat out hatefully in a quiet tone.

"I don't hear you denying it." The man growled, lowering his voice a level.

Artemis growled, clenching both fists, "I can do it." She hissed.

Artemis had a flash back instantly of Red Arrow approaching her that night in the alley as she slipped out of her apartment. Where his face was close to hers, frustration and mistrust planted on his face as though he could see inside her mind and know her true purpose for being on the team. She could hear him now, his strong voice echoing coldly in her ear-_"Don't hurt my friends."_

"Then do it. Right now." Her father ordered, pointing his large index finger at a still unmoving Robin.

Artemis shrugged like it was no big deal, even though she knew he could probably hear her heart pumping. How could he not hear it? It was so loud, pounding in her ears and shaking her body. She felt her body slip into the motions like a machine. Mechanically she pulled back her bowstring and set her arrow to it. Then her calloused fingers pulled back expertly, carefully lining up her shot. The boy's chest heaved again, and he mumbled something about a circus. Artemis felt her mouth go dry, and she took one last glance at her father who stood behind her, watching expectantly. She turned back and reset her shot. One deep breath, and she released her hold on the arrow. Time seemed to slow down awkwardly as it flew through the air, and Artemis watched it as images flashed through her mind. As the arrow made its way through the air like molasses traveling through caramel, Artemis was instantly plagued by a rapid fire of memories-Robin pawing through the dictionary absent mindedly and coming up with clever words to use, Robin at training as he worked away at constantly getting better, the thirteen year old Robin, who kept up with teens that were not only older than himself, but armed with an arsenal of super-human powers, and Robin doing everyday things mixed in with the boy fighting crime, Robin smiling at her welcomingly-the arrow sunk deep into his chest. The world sped back up to its normal pace and suddenly a hand was patting her back, shaking her from her reverie.

"I'm glad to see your sister was wrong. I'm going to go unload the rest of the shipment. Be a good girl and take care of the rest of your friends." He dad said, and he was gone. And she was alone in the hall with a boy who had an arrow lodged into the top right side of chest. A single tear slipped out her eye and she turned away with a burning shame.

"If you can hear me now, Robin…I'm so sorry." Artemis whispered before turning down the hall to meet up with the team, leaving with more than one secret.

Artemis stepped out of the dimly lit hallway slowly. The tears had been wiped from her face and she couldn't feel a flush of red in her cheeks. She probably looked normal, if a little sleep deprived. The room was empty and she supposed the rest of the team had long since moved on. She sighed, releasing a bit of tension that had coiled inside of her.

"What took you so long? And where's Rob?" a voice called, appearing out of nowhere. Artemis blinked rapidly while a blur of vivid yellow and striking red finally settled into the form of Kid Flash, his arms crossed and looking bored-things always seemed to move to so slowly to him.

"He went on ahead to check the computer's. He said he'd wanted to get into the main frame and see if there were any files mentioning the Venom or Block Buster, and if there were, if they were traceable." Artemis flung out as her brain had generously slipped into autopilot for her, coming up with something believable.

Kid Flash peered over her shoulder, doing a quick search for the Boy Wonder.

"We should go get him. Everyone else has moved onto the next warehouse." Wally informed her, smashing his goggles back down over his bright green eyes. Artemis shook her head, taking a step closer to the speedster so he wouldn't take off and risk running her into the cold cement floor.

"Don't. He said he'd catch up, and if we screw something up in there, it might trigger the alarms." She said in an urgent tone. Wally straightened up, no longer in his running stance, and crossed his arms.

"I hate it when he does this. He's on a team! He should learn to trust us, you know?" the redhead muttered rolling his eyes. Artemis's throat felt rough but she denied to let it show-so she shoved away her tears and guilt.

"Well…come one. Aqualad's pretty serious about keeping us "covert" and together this time." Baywatch-Kid Flash-said, and then scooped her up. Before she could react, she felt is muscles tense and then her hair was waving frantically behind her, waving goodbye to the storehouse and two major secrets.

][][][][

Artemis's feet hit the floor as Wally set her down, causing her to wobble before she regained her footing. Her eyes had grown used to the blurry images that had passed her by, even though it had only been a few seconds, and it took them a minute to adjust to the rapid change of scenery. When her eyes cleared she found the rest of the team, and herself, huddled in some production line of the second warehouse. Kaldur turned around upon seeing Wally's smeared image finalize into Kid Flash and he walked up to the two teens.

"Where is Robin?" he asked at the notice of the missing boy.

"He's doing his computer thing with the main systems." The young speedster supplied before Artemis could open her mouth, leaving her eyes downcast for a moment. She knew that that wasn't what he was doing. The Atlantian nodded, not surprised at the thought of Robin slipping away to hack.

"While you were getting Artemis," the dark skinned teen said, informing the two on what they had missed, "Superboy, Miss Martian, and I found a large supply of combined Venom and Blockbuster ready to be shipped. Kid Flash, you take a sample back to the BioShip so we can study it, but be back. Superboy, Megan, Artemis," he said after handing Kid a sample, "We will dispose the rest of the serum so it doesn't find its way into anyone else." The leader finished. Kid Flash made a salute with his hand that wasn't gripping a small glass vial, and then he turned, his body becoming distorted from the speed as he zoomed off. After a moment's pause Kaldur nodded, turning to the team.

"As I said, let's get started." He said, walking over to a crate and whipping out his water-bearers. They glued in a warm blue before two spouts of water surged out of them, solidifying into two impregnable maces. Then he brought them both down powerfully on top of the crate, carefully avoiding the liquid that oozed out of the debris and moving on the next one.

M'gann followed his lead, telepathically lifting a large load of the filled, wooden, boxes in to the air and then watching them fall from the sky, shattering as they smashed heavily against the unforgiving floor. Superboy was next, and he lifted up a behemoth of a crate, shifting it awkwardly in his muscular arms before thrashing it against a nearby wall, turning it instantly to rubble. Artemis watched, transfixed by the destruction.

"Enough!" a voice hollered angrily, filling the air with a rush of tremendous noise and leaving it in dead silence as everyone turned. On a large stack of crates, the Sportsmaster cocked his gun.

"Sportsmaster." Kaldur greeted, his maces still locked tightly in his strong hands, "You are greatly outnumbered. Stand down." The Atlantian warned, quickly adjusting to the latest set of circumstances.

The over-sized man laughed before looking the team over, "Even if that were _true, _I'm sure three of us would be more than enough for the three of you." he called down, his gun pointing at Artemis.

"Isn't that right, Artemis?"

][][][][

Author's Note: Mailbox

KaliAnn: That means a lot, coming from you! I am starting on the second part of your series, but it may take me a while to finish!

InfiniteChange: Thank you!

Coconuat: Wow, thanks!

GrayAreas: I may start calling this Mailbox, intead of replies…I like it! I just changed it! And thanks for your compliment! I try to keep it interestring!

Kiwisilence: Geez, that made my day! Thank you!

Rowanfall: Cool! Great enthusiamasm! Loved how excited you were! Sorry that it wasn't either of them, though...

Stargazer128: I really hope you didn't explode. You cracked me up!

Scarlet mist: LOL! I was reading you comment, and then I got to the last part and I seriously started chuckling! Thanks!


	4. Betrayal

Chapter Four: Betrayal

The Sportsmaster was looking at her expectantly now, sly and knowing with his machine gun wrapped firmly in his hand. Time slowed for the second time that day, seconds becoming days and minutes stretching lazily into moths-years-decades, each strain of time longer and more distorted than the last. Artemis could feel the blood began to pump into her ears and her cheeks felt warm and wet underneath her dark green mask. Anxiety began to ripple through her body like a surging wave, and for a split second she felt as though she just might drown in the emotion. Her vision was blurry, emphasizing the terrible feeling, but she quickly found her head. It wasn't an ocean of her feelings that was rising to drown her; it was the slick and salty tide of tears beginning to build up in the edges of her eyes. Which was ridiculous and feeble. Those words weren't supposed to describe her. She was strong. She was brave. She was a…traitor.

"A-Artemis?" Megan's voice asked, surprised and hesitant, breaking the young archer from her thoughts, "What 's he talking about?" she questioned, lowering a little in the air as a gesture of peace and mild understanding. Artemis shook her dizzying head, steadying herself. She had to focus, she needed to think.

The rest of the team seemed to second Megan's question, the Atlantian with a mere nod and Superboy with a hardened gaze of set anger.

"Yes, Artemis," came Jade's voice, and then Artemis felt her sister's eyes flash wit amusement, "What _is_ Daddy talking about?"Artemis tensed.

"'Daddy?'" Megan gasped with horror as understanding pierced her mask of innocence and trust. The Martian's gaze touched Artemis briefly but was then flung at Sportsmaster. Kaldur cleared his throat, causing Artemis to divert her attention away from the unfolding scene of chaos.

Artemis turned to face her team, her body rigid.

"Sportsmaster is my father." She said quietly. The team exchanged surprised looks, all looking unsure of what to do, but not weak and Artemis swallowed and went on, "Cheshire is my half-sister."

Megan's feet hit the floor as she stood by Kaldur and Superboy, a few feet away from Artemis. On the other side, Sportsmaster and Cheshire were standing atop a rather tall pile of Venom crates, looking down at her demandingly. Kaldur was the first to say anything as understanding blew through him.

"What will you do, Artemis? You could still be part of the team. Family does not change who you can be." he said, thinking of his own father.

Artemis took a deep breath, exchanging a look with Sportsmaster.

"I could." She replied to Kaldur, lowering her bow and eyeing the team longingly. Then she threw another look at her dad before stepping over the group of teens. She hung her head and stood over by Megan. Her father glared down at her questioningly, and she returned it with a look of her own-crossing her arms as she stood by her team.

The room was once again still as the two sides sized the other up, until Artemis spoke.

"I'm sorry, Megan." She whispered to the green skinned girl next to her in a hushed tone.

"_We can't help who we're related to."_ The Martian replied telepathically in a warm and accepting tone. Sure, she had twelve other sisters back home, but it was easier to talk with Artemis. Okay, "easier" wasn't the word. Perhaps "natural" was a better descriptive.

"_Not for that-for this."_ Artemis corrected, and before the young orange haired teen could react, Artemis had an arrow in hand, and she was uncapping it. Just as the sickeningly sweet smell of the green gas started to waft from the opening in the arrow, Artemis shoved it into the Martian's face. Megan's eyes fluttered briefly and her hand shot out in a feeble attempt to defend herself-but then her eyes rolled back into her head and she crumpled to the floor.

Artemis looked up to catch a glint of minimal approval in her father's eye, and his giant finger finally pulled down on the trigger, sending a thick red laser into Superboy's chest, causing the boy's face to swell into rage before the Boy of Steel run at the man in blind rage. Cheshire smiled deviously and pulled out her blow darts that were laced with every kind of toxin she could muster up. Superboy roared as he charged, a red laser blasting away at his chest, but Artemis wasn't really paying attention. She was focused on Kaldur, who was approaching her, water bearers and tattoos glowing with electricity and power. Before she knew it, her bow was drawn and her eyes were calculating just how much velocity and trajectory she would need to send an arrow flying into his chest. She blinked rapidly as an image of Robin, small and vulnerable with an arrow in his chest , flashed into her mind like an unwanted house guest. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably inside of her, and her aim wavered a little.

"Why?" Kaldur asked, his watery maces out but not being held threateningly, but ready to defend their owner at any time.

"Because people get hurt if I don't" Artemis hissed, her mother's face flashing into her mind and banishing Robin into far darker recesses that would come to her in the middle of the night. Her mother had stood on two legs, once. Years ago, her mother had been able to walk. But then Artemis had gotten weak. She had told her dear father 'No'. And her mother ended up in the hospital. Her legs had been a warning-and her father wasn't a big fan of second chances. One more time, and her mother wouldn't need a hospital any more.

"People get hurt if you do." Kaldur shot back, his eyes blazing. Artemis eyed him with a sad look.

"I know." She replied solemnly, and she released the arrow, sending it flying into the air. However, before it sank into its intended target, it was broken by a solid blow by Aqualad's mace. The Atlantian growled and launched himself at Artemis, his maces fixed securely in his hands. She dodged out of the way just as the one in his right hand blasted against the floor. He stood up, looking around for the blonde-his eyes widening a bit as he ducked all the way to the ground to avoid an arrow that sailed just over his head and sinking into a nearby wall.

The Atlantian stood up, and then aimed one of his water bearers at Artemis, and a surge of powerful water tore at her, dousing her, soaking her all the way down to her bones and pushing her down to the floor. She was on her knees with her arms supporting her, coughing and disoriented from the blast of water. Kaldur sheathed his bearers, and then knelt down to touch the trail of water that lead to the coughing teen, sending electricity to pulse through the water. The electricity hit her hard, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to hit the floor in a hard and unforgiving way.

Kaldur cocked his head at Artemis's still figure and his eyes widened. He always seemed to forget that not everyone on his team was more than human, aside from Robin and Artemis, and he ran to kneel down by the girl, his webbed fingers about to probe her neck for a pulse.

Just as his skin made contact, Artemis whirled into a sitting position with an arrow hidden in her hand. The movement surprised Aqualad, causing him to pause while he processed the latest turn of envents-but the quick stop was just enough time to land the arrow in his shoulder.

Suddenly the Atlantian felt lightheaded, and the world swirled in his eyes. He felt dizzy and unbalanced, and he slumped to the ground, the world darkening.

"Cheshire's jellyfish toxins…highly concentrated." Artemis explained guiltily, her voice barely penetrating the fog in Kaldur's mind.

"I'm so sorry, Kaldur." She told him, and then his world faded to black.

Artemis stood up, her body still tingling from the electricity that had coerced through her, searing her skin. The room was a different kind of silent now. Not the silence forced by tension, but that of emptiness. She turned to see Cheshire already piling Kaldur and Megan into a pile, and her father had Superboy draped over his arm like a rag doll.

"Kryptonite powder in the darts mixed with toxin." Cheshire explained, coming to stand by Artemis, answering to how the nearly indestructible boy was lying limply on the floor as her father tossed him to the ground beside his teammates. Artemis shrugged, her stomach empty.

"I didn't think you could do it." Jade said after the momentary pause and Sportsmaster approached his daughter and her half-sister.

"Cheshire," the man growled from behind his mask, "Go unload the rest of the shipment while me and Artemis load up the Justice Brats." He ordered, and Cheshire shrugged, melting away into the shadows.

Sportmaster nodded, turning towards Artemis.

"Heko me get 'em into their cages. Bird Boy's gone, which means we lose the Gotham market, but I'm still sure other's will pay to have Aqualad, Superboy, or Miss Martian-not to mention Kid Flash-where is he?" He father began, then realized the speedster was not among the fallen heroes.

Artemis felt her heart quicken.

"He went to go drop off a sample a few minutes ago-he should be back any second." She answered. How could she have forgotten Wally?

"Then I guess you'll be waiting for him." Sportsmaster said, smiling.

][][][][

Author's Mailbag:

Rowanfall: That would have been sooooo AWKWARD! 0.o Love the enthusiasm, by the way! It's nice to see and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

GrayAreas: Thanks! That's an amazing compliment!

Stargazer128: Sorry about Robin…And I'm really glad you didn't explode! And thanks! I love virtual brownies! :D

Scarlet mist: I hope your pillow survived. And thanks for forgiving me! I'm going through a cliffie phase right now. :D

KaliAnn: Thanks! Man, this took forever! And thanks for noticing the character development.

Sam: You've put some thought into this! And thanks!

Tony: Love the face! ^_^

Celadon Catamount: Nothing is scarier than an angry Batman…that may be fun to write one day. Hmm, good idea with the Kryptonite arrow.

Kiwisilence: Thanks! And, that last part surprised me, to be honest! LOL! And by the way…is your name like the bird kiwi or the fruit? Sorry, I've just been wondering… :D


	5. Bitter Sweet

Chapter Five: Bitter Sweet

Artemis swallowed hard, forcing wet down her dry and rough throat. Only a few seconds had passed, barely enough time to process the latest string of events, since her father had decided to secure her ex-team mates, leaving her alone and waiting in the storage house. But unlike she had been since she got here, she no longer felt sweaty, nervous, or anxious –her palms didn't sweat, her heart didn't pound madly against her chest, her ears didn't thump blindly while blood pumped in and out of them and make the world sound like chaos. No, none of that; Just an extreme and isolating sense of loneliness and numbness. She felt so…detached-like she was possibly watching someone else. It was so strange, and it had never happened to her before. But she could feel it in her-like a dam about to burst. She could feel the pain that threatened her-no, not threatened-promised to break her. It promised to wreck her, shake her very foundations of life to the core and consume her-the pain of guilt, of betrayal, and knowing that she had done it. She had caused all of it. But for right now, for this moment in time, she felt…nothing. And that was possibly the most painful thing of all. The fact that she could feel nothing. The fact that she knew she looked fine, and prepared, and ready, and without regrets, as her best-her only-friends lay unconscious, possibly dead, in different rooms throughout the store house, each awaiting a fate that may be considered worse than death in cages. Robin, the small acrobat who flew through the air, who was free and wild, would not even need a cage. Artemis expected her eyes to tear again-but she still felt nothing, her thoughts only dismally sinking through and quietly poking her with mild and guilt.

Her fingers tightened around her bow's handle and she waited. She wanted to say she'd been waiting for eternity, but she didn't trust time anymore. It slowed down during the most painful moments of her life and sped through the good times-it was unreliable and sadistic, either going amazingly fast or agonizingly slow. And it would make her relive this day every night she went to bed for the rest of her life. She knew she sounded pathetic, but Artemis didn't care. She was numb. She was untouchable. She was alone.

Suddenly the space around the entrance seemed to distort itself as though it were unsure of how exactly it was supposed to look. Then, quicker than you can blink, the distortion seemed to ebb into a smear of yellow and red, and after another blink, Kid Flash was whole and visible, standing in the room confusedly, puzzled by the lack of team mates. He hadn't seen Artemis yet, who was perched in a darkened corner adjacent to the door on a mound of empty crates.

"Um, guys?" Wally asked the empty air quietly, his eyes scanning the room as he pulled off his goggles.

Artemis swallowed again and narrowed her eyes, still numb. She took aim and expertly pulled back her bow-letting it go and sail through the air. It had been aimed perfectly, and Artemis could already see it-the arrow plunging into the young speedster who had his back turned to her. The arrow continued to move, and it was almost to Wally's head. Artemis watched sadly as it got closer, and closer, and closer-and he was gone. The arrow sank heavily into a wall on the other side of the room. Artemis blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what had just happened. She had seen him, heard him, but then….where was he?

"Are you crazy?" a voice exclaimed in front of her, and she found that in between blinks, Wally had appeared before her. His expressive green eyes were wide and bright, a tinge of anger edging in them. Somehow, without her noticing, he had pulled the arrow from the wall and now had it wrapped firmly in his hand.

"You shot an arrow at me! An arrow!" he clamored loudly in surprise and shock, then waved the arrow in her face, "_This arrow_! You remember I'm on your team, _right_?" he asserted, finishing by waiting for her answer. Artemis felt the prickle of the pain, and knew the dam was that much closer to breaking.

"Yeah," she murmured, "I remember." And then she set her bow rapidly again, an arrow already aimed at Kid Flash. She closed her narrowed her eyes and released her hold on the thin instrument of destruction. It shot out again, straight in front of her-but there was only an empty space again.

Then something grabbed her from behind-two strong arms were wrapped around her firmly.

"Could you possibly _stop_ doing that?" Kid Flash hollered over the sound Artemis made while struggling, "What is _wrong_ with you? Where is the rest of the team?" he asked, trying to maintain his grip on the squirming girl.

"Let _go_ of me!" Artemis hissed, anger spiking in her system. She flailed again, kicking wildly against Wally. Suddenly the boy gasped and released her, his voice high and uncharacteristically shrill and he fell to his knees, and Artemis realized she'd gotten him where it counted. Before he could move, she drew her bow-but she didn't even get to let it go, as she blinked and he was gone. Stupid speed healing-stupid super-speed in genral.

Abruptly a force slammed into her, causing her to roll to the ground, and before she could catch a breath, she found Kid Flash's bright yellow costume hovering over her with his arms crossed and his eyes full of fury.

"You're trying to kill me!" he shouted, obviously not too concerned with being covert anymore, and then another thought occurred to him, "Where is my team? Miss M? Aqualad? Superboy?" he demanded, and then his face paled, "Where is Robin?" Then his face contorted with anger and he lifted her up by her shoulders, his eyes fiery orbs of blazing green, "Well?" he barked, and Artemis ignored the sear of guilt that escaped her carefully constructed dam to pierce her heart. Thinking quickly, she sucked a glob of spit into her mouth, and sent it flying into Wally's face. The boy dropped her automatically as he wiped at his face, his expression shifting from anger to disgust.

"I can't believe you just did that." He muttered and then found himself face to face with an arrow tip.

Artemis had her eyes narrowed again, and she peered down at him from the beginning of her bow. He was wearing an expression of mild confusion, but it was dominated by anger. She blinked and he was gone, making her curse under her breath. She tensed and waited for him to appear in some other part of the room. Before she knew what had happened, she found herself on the floor again, a pain originating from her back. She grinded her teeth and stood up, her bow set and her eyes masterfully gliding around the room looking for something to shoot at.

"This is about your dad isn't it?" a voice called angrily, but this time its owner did not appear with it, and she found herself shoved harshly against a wall, "You act _so_ independent and strong-but really you're just a little girl playing hero and following orders!" she heard, but before she could take aim, he was gone. His words stung, and another blow was dealt against her dam

Wally was furious. If she was trying to kill him, she had probably done the same to his team. Oh, geez…Robin. He mentally slapped himself, grinding his teeth. He was such an idiot. He had known not to trust her-he'd _known!_ Kid sped up again, and as he did, everything else felt like it slowed down. He dodged another arrow that was now suspended uselessly in the air, and he glared at Artemis. Her face was set and determined, and he was going so fast it was like she was frozen that way-cold and hard. Rage boiled in him again, and he snatched the bow out of her hand, zooming farther away from her and slowing down again. He watched triumphantly as she noticed for the first time that her bow was no longer in her hand, and she looked up to glare hatefully at Wally. Wally smirked and held out the bow playfully before he caught himself. This was serious-his team could be seriously injured or…his team could be seriously injured and it would be all of…_its_ fault. Growling, Wally made his eyes slits.

"Where are they?" he asked, trying to make his voice harsh, pronouncing each word individually, like each word was a sentence.

"You'll find out soon enough!"Artemis snapped, flash of guilt penetrating her cold eyes.

"I'd like to see you try without this!" Wally replied menacingly, indicating the bow.

Artemis growled in frustration, and then pulled out her sheath, rummaging around.

"Like you really have an extra bow in your sheath." Wally scoffed, rolling his eyes at the bluff. Artemis pulled out a single arrow that looked identical to any other bow and chucked it at Wally, forcefully sending it flying through the air. The arrow hit the ground, barely being able to skid to Kid's feet, and the redhead looked at her with superiority.

_Beep-Beep-BEEP_

Wally looked down to see the arrow exploding, so he began to pick up his feet. But he found he couldn't. Looking down he saw a gooey substance had entangled his feet. He tried to move them again, but he could only manage to peel his feet maybe a whole whopping three inches off the surface. Great. Fantastic. Artemis smirked and advanced across the room. Wally tried to look as threatening as possible, which was rather hard to do when you couldn't move you feet. He did a good job for one in such a situation, but Artemis hardly batted an eye as she reached out and yanked her bow out from the speedster's hand.

She backed up, getting ready for the perfect shot. Unfortunately, Wally still had his super speed, and he continued to simply move his body out of the way by ducking or shifting.

Wally smiled at her tauntingly, "Wow…I'm stuck in one spot and you still can't hit me. Tsk, tsk, what would Green Arrow say?" Kid Flash snarled, "Oh, maybe he would suggest _not trying to kill your friends_!"

"I don't get friends." Artemis said evenly.

"Hmm, think it could have something to do with the fact you keep trying to kill 'em? I wouldn't take Daddy's advice on making friends." Wally snapped at her, his eyes alight with restrained anger.

"Do you even know who my father is?" Artemis snarled, pulling her arrow back. She know she should start saving them, she was running low. But more than anything right now, she wanted the boy to shut up.

"Not sure, but I'll bet he's charming." Kid Flash retorted, dodging another arrow. Out of nowhere, two large and muscular arms wrapped around the young hero, ripping him right out of the sticky goop beneath his feet and he let out a gust of air in surprise.

"Oof!" Wally gasped, and he tilted his head up to find himself staring eye-to-eye with Sportsmaster.

"I'm Artemis's father." He said smugly, and then turned with Kid Flash wrapped firmly in his arms to face Artemis.

Wally practically had anger running off of him and he just glared, his feet high off the ground and feeling helpless.

"Where's everybody?" he asked quietly, something inside him clicking and telling him he couldn't run away from this one.

"The Boy Blunder's dead and I'm selling you and the rest to the other's in my field who may have a more personal death in store for you." Sportsmaster said teasingly, and he turned to Artemis.

"Shoot him." He said, holding Kid's body away from his own, even though he had a machine gun strapped to his back.

Artemis sucked in her breath. This was happening. Right now. The whole world was ending, and she was at the center of it. She took out her last arrow, taking aim. Wally still reverberated anger and fury poured off of him, and he glared at her.

"I hope it's worth it." Wally spat.

Artemis felt it. The dam broke. She was no longer numb-and the pain was unbearable. It was excruciating and she gasped from the sudden shock of it. Images of Robin pooped in her mind, flashes of Miss Martian looking at her with warmth and acceptance, Superboy absent mindedly tinkering around in the garage, Kaldur talking to her about the importance of teamwork and trust, Wally shoving down a horde of hot dogs at the beach…and it was all going to be gone. The anxiety returned to her and she felt the warmth fill her like burning lead was swarming through her blood stream. Dhifting her eyes from Wally to her father, she realized she was completely alone. That no matter what she did, she would never belong. She could never be on the team now, and her father would never let her be. She would always walk a thin line with one foot in the darkness. Nothing she did would matter, because she would cancel it out with the next action. And if nothing she did mattered, why couldn't she at least do the right thing.

"It's not." She whispered, and she changed the position of her arrow by just a little, changing the whole trajectory of the shot. No one seemed to notice and she didn't care. No one had to. They'd figure your it pretty quick. She released her arrow and it surged towards Wally, who didn't even flinched as he hung there bravely. It zoomed towards his face-Just zooming past a lock of hair as the arrow sunk deep into her father's forearm.

She could sense Sportsmaster's face contort into anger from his mask, and he dropped Kid from the pain. Wally hit the ground, and the man growled furiously as the speedster took off. Snarling obscene language, he tore the arrow from his arm with distaste, and then turned his abhorrent gaze to Artemis.

"You little brat!" the man roared furiously, tossing the arrow at the ground angrily and grabbing his gun from his back, "You know I don't give second chances!"

And then Artemis felt two bullets tear into her chest.

][][][][

Author's Note: Mailbag

GrayAreas: Glad you liked it! And, totally agree with you on Artemis. And as for why she wasn't even knocked on unconscious…we're just going to say that Aqualad has very bad judgment on how much power he packs into those shocks. XD LOL

Rowanfall: Aww! Well, that made my day! And LOL "HOW COULD YOU?"-love it. Also, I will have you know, I was unable to stop saying "By the by" at the beginning of everything I said for a while. Also, I will let it be known that I am a huge Wally/Artemis fan, so yes, I wanted them to end up fighting each other …That is possibly the strangest explanation. Anyway, thanks!

Scarlet mist: The pillow lives! And I'm forgiven. Not a bad day And all that on top of you enjoying the chapter? A pretty aster day.

MidnightRoulette: I'm actually not sure how many chapters this will have…probably not too many more. And thanks!

Kiwisilence: I think Kaldur would be a supportive personality, and I'm glad you agree! And, that's awesome! Kiwi's are my favorite flightless birds! And the fruit goes really well in smoothies. I like either! :D LOL

Quoththeraven5: Batman would probably go apocalyptic on Artemis's hide. X)

KaliAnn: I hadn't thought about it before…Yeah, I guess I did. By total accident, but I did! Great minds think alike, I suppose.

Stargazer128: Can you still sense the CLIMAX? And Wally's your favorite? Mine too! :D

Tony: Woot! I feel all flattered. ^o^


	6. Pain Heals

Chapter 6: Pain Heals

She didn't even scream. She felt the bullets rip through her like she was paper, and the seething agony that pulsed directly after, but she refused to let her father hear her scream. She could instantly feel the unforgiving cold of the floor as she shattered against it, and it took all she had to keep from crying. Even as it was, a small trickle of tears escaped the corner of her eye before she slammed her lids shut. She wished for pain. Pain would be so bearable compared to this...The warm tears clashed roughly with the cold that was creeping up her face-it was uncomfortable and strange, and it made her want to move, but she couldn't. She was trapped-immobilized by fear and devastation as her body was racked with the force of her anguish. The world was beginning to wobble in her vision and she forced her eyes closed so she didn't feel the need to throw up. In the dark, her pain seemed to amplify with nothing else to occupy her thoughts. But she could already feel it-feel her body beginning to numb again. But this time, she wasn't sure the feeling would ever come back on.

Wally stopped on the other side of the room. All he heard for the next three seconds-nearly four hours in his hyper speed-was the sound of two gun shots ringing out, one after the other, and then the sound waves reverberating around the room. Possibly the most horrifying part was that he was going so fast that the bullets were moving like they would in water, so he could see them pierce the young archer's skin individually. Then she crumpled to the ground, not even making a sound except the lifeless thud that seemed to hang in the air for a brief period of time. And then things sped up again, returning to normal as though time had entirely forgotten the girl in green and the fact that she had just been shot.

"Artemis!" Wally shouted, but the girl didn't move. She lay there-still, motionless, as the top of her hunter-green outfit begin to darken even further.

"What do you care?" Sportmaster called out to the yellow-suited boy in a hateful tone, "You know she killed the Birdboy and helped me capture the rest of your pathetic team."

Kid Flash didn't answer and instead flung himself at the man at full speed. Slowly the sound of gun fire erupted and a bullet lazily escaped the barrel of the gun, the speedster easily dodging it. Then he grabbed the barrel of the gun before the man could pull the trigger again, tearing it out of the still-unaware man, to whom Wally was still a fast moving blur. Wally ripped the gun from the man's beefy hands and quickly removed the ammo before chucking it across the room and hurling the ammo through a low-level window. Sportsmaster growled furiously and his fist caught Wally just as the rounds flew out the window, sending the boy flying across the room. The speedster smashed viciously against a tower of crates, causing all them to topple down onto the redhead. Wally flailed, trying to free himself from the crates, but they were too heavy and there were too many. Suddenly, or slowly in Wally's case, the large and meaty hand wrapped aggressively around the teen's costume collar, pulling him from the mound of crates like he weighed nothing. Kid Flash found his face close to the Sportsmaster's as the tightened his grip.

"Any last words?" the man rasped out, and the strain became even tighter.

Wally nodded, and sucked in a glob of salvia into his mouth before launching into the man's eye.

"Learned that from your daughter." Wally replied smugly as his feet hit the floor. But instead of moving his feet, his fists turned into wrecking balls, smashing harshly against the man wherever Wally could land an effective punch. Then he arched his body back and jumped, landing a powerful kick to the man's face at lightning speed before landing.

The Sportsmaster staggered back, growling fowl language. But even one of Sportsmaster's strength and endurance could not withstand being hit multiple times at a super-speed, and the man's eyes slid back into his head before he collided with the ground. Wally knelt down and put his hand to the tree-stump of a man's neck and felt a pulse. He'd live.

Then he remembered Artemis and he looked up to see he still figure unmoved. Moving at a sonic speed, he knelt down by Artemis, looking at her with concern.

"You're an idiot." He told her, and she forced her eyes open.

"Yeah. Listen…he probably-" Artemis cringed from pain, "-put the team in some…room here." She pushed out, her voice faint and ragged. She could see the world dimly, and the darkness tinged the borders of her eye sight. The pain was nearly gone now, more fuzzy and distorted.

"Thank you, and thanks for not shooting me." Wally told her gently, and she managed a weak and distant nod, her eyes beginning to shut.

"Hey, stay with me!" Wally called, his voice rising, trying to get her attention. Artemis fluttered her eyes open again, and this time she looked urgent.

"Wally-Robin's…he's not dead." She took a shallow and rough sounding breath before she could continue, "The arrow…it was a stunner. It slows down the heart…mimics death. He'll be fine…if the bleeding is stopped." She managed, the effort seeming to exhaust her. Wally's eyes grew wide.

"You didn't kill him?" he asked, relief flooding over him as he looked towards the door hopefully before he looked back down to Artemis. But the archer was still and pale, her pulse so faint at first Wally had thought she was already gone.

"Artemis?" he asked, giving her a quick shake. Still the archer did not move.

"If you die, I'm going to kill you!" Wally threatened, unsure of what to do. He expected some retort, or something…but there was silence escaping the young blonde, except a feeble pulse that barely thudded. She seemed so small now…so vulnerable and weak. Artemis would have killed him for thinking that. Her body shifted in and he grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.

"I know I don't deserve it" She murmured, giving him a faint smile, "Please, though,," she said, heaving in a shallow breath, momentarily confused by why it was so hard to breath, "please take care…of my mom."

"Artemis, just breathe. I have to go save Robin and get the guys, but just breathe, okay?" he asked. Artemis shot him a confused look, wondering why his voice was blurring, but she had to make sure, so grabbed his hand, "Take care of my mom." Artemis heard her voice say pleadingly, but even her voice sounded watery and far away.

"I will if you keep breathing." He said, and then he was gone in a smeary color yellow and red, but Artemis wasn't too sure of that was because he had super-speeded off or because of her failing eyes. But after a moment she guess she didn't care.

She didn't feel pain anymore, which was nice. And Kid Flash was going to save Robin, Megan, Conner, and Kaldur. She didn't care anymore that the lights in her eyes were fading, or that the thump of her heart seemed to echo less and less often. She didn't even mind the cold so much. It was numbing. Sure, her shirt felt thick and sticky, but she had to admit that the warmth felt rather nice on her chilling skin. In fact, for the first time in her life, she wasn't feeling regretful. She knew she would do it again in her heart beat. Speaking of heart beat, she could hear it. She could hear it fading like the last notes in some haunting song.

_Thump…thump….thump…..thump._

Then she remembered she was dying, that somewhere in her chest, two tiny bullets were nestled up inside of her. Dying wasn't so bad. It was soft. She felt a veil of darkness envelop her, and she frowned. Oh, well. Wally would probably take care of her mom anyway. Then she took a deep breath and slid peacefully into the darkness.

][][][][

"We have brain activity." A voice said, floating into the darkness of her mind. She really didn't notice it at first, but then the smell hit her. She had always hated the smell of hospitals. It was sweet and chemically, and bundled into that nauseating odor was the fact that people all around you were suffering. She felt groggy and she forced her eyes open. Her eyes squinted at first, and she didn't remember light as being so bright, but then her eyes adjusted. She found herself looking face to face with Robin, and her heart sunk. Oh, no.

"He couldn't save you…I'm so sorry for killing you, Robin." She rasped, surprised by how weak her voice was.

"…We're not dead" the young boy said and Artemis blinked confusedly at him.

"But-but I died." Artemis replied.

"You're heart stopped for two minutes before Wally could get you attached the BioShip's medical table." Robin said, "So technically I suppose you died for two minutes."

"She's awake?" a voice asked, coming into the room. Artemis forced her head to turn over-that hurt more than you could possibly imagine- and saw Wally shoving a bite of banana into his mouth. Behind him Megan, Kaldur, and Conner walked in.

"We're all dead?" she asked, eyeing each of her teammates. It hadn't mattered. They had all…what she had done had meant nothing, "I'm so sorry…" she murmured. All of them…dead.

Wally and the rest of the team shot Robin a look and he shrugged, "She thinks we're dead."

Artemis felt her eyes watering, and she got hit with a sudden burst of pain.

"Ow…" she gasped her hand flying to her chest.

"Don't! You might tear the stitching." Kaldur said, his webbed hand catching her wrist and gently laying it back down on the bed, "It will hurt for some time. The bullet's had to be removed and we had to do surgery to do so safely."

"Is everyone okay?" Artemis asked, her voice still weak as she sunk back down into the covers.

"Well, our team mate tried to kill us." Robin piped. Guilt surged into Artemis, but she didn't blame the Boy Wonder. She would have been upset too.

Kaldur gave the young boy a look, but he did not say anything. The team was silent, and Artemis became aware that this was her chance to apologize.

"This doesn't mean anything, and it can't possibly make up for this, but I'm really sorry." She gasped out, but even she thought she sounded pathetic. The room remained still, and Artemis sighed.

"What happened?" she asked finally, unable to think of anything else. All she wanted to say was that she was sorry, but that could never make up for her actions.

"I left and got Rob, used his cape to stop the bleeding. Then I found the rest of the team on a helicopter, bound and gagged next to the shipment. I let them go and we took down Cheshire before we went to get Rob and you. Then we hooked both of you up the medical equipment. You've been out for three days, and Rob got up two days ago." Wally explained, his voice blurring a bit over the details.

"What happened with Sportmaster and Cheshire?" Artemis asked, the last foggy memory consisting of shooting her father in the arm.

"Both will be spending a very long time in jail for attempt of murder and illegal drug trafficking." Robin said smugly.

"Good." Artemis wheezed, hr head flopping back down onto the hospital bed.

The room again seemed to fill with quiet.

"So, what happens now?" she asked suddenly, and the team exchanged glances.

"We have to alert the League and you will probably be exiled from the team and be stripped of your partner status with Green Arrow."

Artemis nodded numbly, not surprised but disappointed. Just when she had finally chosen the right path, the defined direction she would follow…

"But since you did save Wally's life, and by that saving our own, I'm sure we could be able to work something out." Kaldur added.

Artemis gave a faint nod, but it ended up in a confident shake.

"Actually, I think it's time I went solo for a bit…I need to figure some things out." Artemis said. Aqualad nodded, and then Robin interrupted.

"The League's here."

(Three Months Later)

Artemis through her bow down on the coach and slung her backpack down directly after. Her mom was cooking dinner in the kitchen and that meant she had a good twenty minutes of doing absolutely nothing. This felt amazing, because Gotham Academy could be described as repetitive and grueling-not to mention that the last two months had been a slew of late nights.

After the League had gotten done pounding on her-figuratively-they had told her that since she saved Kid Flash, she would not be sent to prison or even Juvi. But she was band from the team and Batman had said that he would be watching-and that if she so much as _breathed_ a word about anyone's secret identity or the location of the Young Justice, she would regret it. Ollie had been the most disappointed. He had hoped she could over-come her relations with her father-he had believed she had truly turned over a new leaf, which is why he had agreed at all. However, they did grant her that she could keep her costume, bow, and specialty arrows, which she had used every night since she had healed.

Sure, she didn't mess with the big-baddies like the Team did, but she was at least doing the right thing.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Artemis hopped up.

"I got it!" she yelled, and then ran to the door, yanking it open.

"Uh…guys?" Artemis gasped, surprised.

"Artemis! Who is it?" her mother called.

"Um, some friends from school! I'll be back in a minute!" she yelled back.

"Hurry! Dinner is almost done!" he mother replied, and Artemis nodded, shutting the door.

In front of her, her old team stood in the hall way of her apartment complex, dressed in their civvies.\

"Artemis, the league has noticed that you have continued to use your abilities to help others." Kaldur began, a light smile touching his face.

"Oh, geez, don't be so formal." Wally interrupted, "Basically, while they don't want you as a full member or anything, they're considering letting you go on probation and train with us until they think they can trust you again." Wally said, pausing a minute before saying, "Well?"

"Well what?" Artemis asked, crossing her arms.

"Do you want to?" he asked, and the team seemed to focus in on her.

Artemis looked each of them in the eye, "When do I start?"

][][][][

Author's Note: Mailbag

TO ALL: Well, what do you think of the last chapter? I just wanted to thank all of you wonderful repliers! This idea had been gnawing on me a while and so I had to get it out there! Thanks for enjoying it and replying!

Scarlet mist: I'm glad! I hope you right it because this whole thing was inspired by episode 6 when Megan talks about her twelve sisters and Artemis says "O-Oh, I wouldn't know about that." So I started thinking about her family tree and stuff…And it turned into this. Thank you for replying because I enjoyed your comments!

Stargazer128: Thanks for the amazing complement! And…about the whole spelling mistake, I apologize. Especially for the images of Robin thing… I'm so embarrassed. But besides that thank you!

KiwiSilence: The Spitfire is more implied than anything. I suppose if you squint…And LOL-love how you're like "somewhat" making the right decision in the end. I don't know why, but that made me laugh. Thanks for reading!

KaliAnn: So true.

RowanFall: I thought killing would be a little dark for Artemis too, despite the fact that this whole story was about her killing the Young Justice…Weird. And yes, that sounded odd, but in a funny way. By the by (curse you for implanting that in my head, jk ), Wally's line was actually inspired by that very line :D

GrayAreas: I'm so very glad I won't be ninja'd to death. Loved your comment! Had me rofling! :D …I'm sorry to say your threat made me think of Wally's to Artemis. Weird how my mind works.

MidnightRoulette: I really have a problem with cliff-hangers right now…I should probably get it checked out. X) But I won't. Thanks and Loved your comments!

Tony: If I _could_ evil laugh, I would. But I can't. So you're safe! Thank you! :D And enjoyed your comments, and thanks for introducing me to ^-^ (I love it!)


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